Nicci Cloke is the author of eight novels, including two under the pseudonym Phoebe Locke. Her books have been published in twelve languages. She lives in the Cambridgeshire countryside after a decade spent in London, and previously worked as a nanny, a cocktail waitress and a Christmas Elf to support her writing. Before being published, she worked as a permissions manager, looking after literary estates including those of Sylvia Plath, Ted Hughes and T. S. Eliot, and was also communications manager at the Faber Academy.
Tell us about your new book.
Her Many Faces is the story of Katie, a waitress on trial for poisoning four powerful, wealthy customers at the private members’ club where she works – but it’s told by the five men who think they know her best: her dad, her childhood best friend, her ex, her lawyer and a journalist writing about the case. Each of them has a very different idea of who Katie is and whether or not she could be guilty.
What drew you to the thriller genre originally?
I’ve always loved to read them. I remember being eleven years old and picking up The Tulip Touch by Anne Fine, which is a really powerful, chilling kind of YA psychological thriller (way ahead of its time), and I was completely addicted. I love that feeling of not being able to turn the pages fast enough, of being desperate to find out what’s going to happen to the characters, and that’s a feeling I always want to capture for myself when I’m writing, too.
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What’s a recent thriller you loved?
I just read the new Lisa Jewell, Don’t Let Him In, which I raced through. It’s such a masterclass in characterisation (featuring one of the most truly odious villains I’ve read in ages). She’s a genius.
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Who is a fellow author you’d want with you if there was a murderer on the loose?
At an event last year I heard Patricia Cornwell say she can fly a helicopter, which would come in handy… And I feel like she also probably has a ton of other cool skills that would get me out of this situation, stat.
What’s the thing that scares you the most?
I’m really claustrophobic so videos of people potholing or exploring slot canyons, or of divers swimming under ice or through underwater caves, make me feel very anxious! I don’t think my heart could take it if I had to read or watch a thriller set in that kind of location.
What’s your favorite slasher movie of all time?
It’s a recent one, but I loved Sick. It felt like a fresh take on the genre, with proper jump-scares that really got me.
And this one isn’t exactly a slasher movie per se, but my favourite scary movie (also a recent one) is The Black Phone – Ethan Hawke is so scary as the Grabber (and the supernatural scenes are also really frightening at times) but the whole thing has so much heart. The ending is perfect.
Which of your characters would you be most afraid to meet in real life?
In my previous novel, The July Girls (written as Phoebe Locke), there’s a serial killer named Magpie – so-called by the press because he takes a piece of jewellery from each victim – who I would definitely not want to run into at night.
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Have you ever scared yourself writing a scene?
Absolutely! I tend to be a morning writer but when I’m editing, I have a second productive spell after dinner, which often means I’ll work past midnight. I’ve spooked myself doing this many times, especially as the position of my desk means I have my back to the door. A while back, I wrote a novel called The Tall Man, about an urban legend and a girl who may or may not have murdered someone because of it, and that one was something I much preferred to work on during daylight hours only.
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What’s creepier to you: an anonymous note, a neighbor who knows too much, or a familiar voice on the other end of the phone?
Ooh, such a great question. There’s something so sinister about an anonymous message, where your imagination is left running wild as to who could have sent it (and might even be watching you right now). As someone who used to get way too invested reading all the posts on my neighborhood Facebook group, I have some sympathy with the neighbor who knows too much…
What’s your favorite “thriller trope” to write or read?
I’m a sucker for stories about cults, though I’ve never tried to write one. I also love a dual timeline, or even better, an interesting or unusual structure – Catherine Ryan Howard’s novels are my absolute go-to for this.
Her Many Faces by Nicci Cloke
Four members of London’s wealthiest private club have been poisoned, and waitress Katherine Cole is the prime suspect. Told through the perspectives of five men in her life—her father, her childhood best friend, her ex, her lawyer, and a journalist assigned to the case—the truth about Katherine lies somewhere in between their viewpoints.
Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
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